New Vacuum Chamber Arrives As Beryllium Assembly Nears

With assembly of the new beryllium electrodes into the Focus Fusion experimental device expected to start within weeks, new equipment is flowing to the LPPF lab in Middlesex, NJ. Our new vacuum chamber, (Fig.1) will provide far better views of the device operation through its three six-inch windows. The chamber has been annealed at high temperature to remove its magnetizability and has been sent out to get a titanium nitride coating. The annealing will prevent stray magnetic fields from interfering with the functioning of the axial field coil that controls the spin of the plasmoid, while the coating will prevent oxides and other impurities coming from the steel.

Figure 1 The new vacuum chamber will improve imaging both during and after the fusion shots.

LPPF Research Physicist Dr. Hassan and Chief Scientist Eric Lerner have completed disassembly of the old tungsten cathode and anode. The cathode, despite a perilous birth in 2015, has survived hundreds of fusion shots. The anode, installed in early 2017, was also in fine shape.

When the glove box arrives within the next two weeks, assembly of the beryllium electrodes will begin with experiments still planned for September. The glove box will isolate the electrodes during assembly onto steel plates, protecting the electrodes from humidity and the research team from beryllium dust.